Blood Gods
'The Blood Gods' '' Purpose: Worship of the Lasa and deeper exploration of the spiritual meaning of the vampiric condition. ''Doctrine: ''They believe there were three specific blood gods involved in the creation of the Kindred, Aeshma, Athtar, and Turan, known collectively as the Lasa. These had once been spirits, until they killed the god Ilmaku and drank of his blood. The act created new creatures, beasts and men. In time, the most devoted priests were tasked by the Lasa to reclaim the lost blood of Ilmaku by drinking the blood of the living. ''Membership: ''Mostly Circle of the Crone. Few covenants openly allow the worship of the Lasa for fear that their heavy emphasis on clan would interfere the hard-won unity of the covenant. 'Benefits' • The character receives a free Specialty in Occult (Blood Gods), and must choose whether to follow the Red Path of Aeshma, Athtar the Unifier, or Turan the Lawgiver. He cannot gain further Status within the Blood Gods without meeting the prerequisites of his path. ''The Travails of Athtar the Unifier: Purists Purists, who follow Athtar, must demonstrate a measure of self-control and a familiarity with certain studies (Composure or Resolve ••• and Academics ••). They believe that all the blood gods are aspects of Athtar, who cast off his flesh and transcended to the spiritual world. Seven tribes of men were entrusted with safeguarding portions of the god's corporeal weakness, but they instead devoured the god's flesh and became vampires. Each tribe bears the scars of a weakness on their soul, in the form of the Clan Curse. Forever prevented from reaching spiritual ascension, they seek to gratify their every impulse and overindulge their every whim, making their paradise on Earth. •• Initiation: If a Purist comes to a breaking point in the process of pursuing an Aspiration, he receives +1 on the detachment check. He may never volunteer aid or assistance to another without being defeated in a Social Maneuver unless doing so brings personal gain. ••• Acquiescence: No matter how cruel or callous a believer comes, his intimate knowledge of human weakness gives him leverage when manipulating mortals. The Athtari gains the Seductive Serpent Merit. •••• Glorification: The Purist may select an appropriate Vice, and regain Willpower as if he had that Vice in addition to his Mask and Dirge. ••••• Liberation: Once per week, the Purist may regain Willpower vicariously, by watching someone else undertake actions that would fulfill his own Vice. The Red Path of Aeshma: Seekers Seekers, who follow Aeshma, must demonstrate determination and an understanding of the occult (Resolve ••• and Occult ••). They believe that the blood has weakened since the days of the Lasa, and that increasing the strength of their blood will bring them to a similar god-like state. They recognise the Beast as the whispering voice of Aeshma, and hone their ability to listen to the Beast without succumbing to it. •• Questing: If a Seeker comes to a breaking point in the process of feeding off a mortal, he receives +1 on the detachment check. The character gains the persistent Obsession Condition, with the object of the obsession to investigate the origins of vampire kind. ••• Finding: When Seeker rides the wave of frenzy, he receives an additional +1 to all Physical actions beyond frenzy's usual benefits. •••• Becoming: Seekers receive a +2 bonus to resist the effects of blood addiction, but not a Vinculum. It costs one Willpower point for the Seeker to force himself to drink animal blood, in addition to any other costs if his Blood Potency is too high to stomach it normally. ••••• Unleashing: If actions taken in frenzy bring the Seeker to a breaking point, he receives a +2 bonus on the detachment check. The Seeker cannot regain Willpower from interaction with his Touchstone. The Enlightened Code of Turan the Lawgiver: Abiders Abiders, who follow Turan, must demonstrate self-discipline and an appreciation of law (Composure ••• and Politics or Science ••). They believe that if vampires would wholeheartedly accept the Traditions and support one another, the sufferings of their Requiems would be alleviated, allowing them to unlock the mysteries of life and death - specifically, the nature of death and the strange state of torpor. •• Pledging: If an Abider comes to a breaking point in the process of protecting or enforcing the Traditions, he receives +1 die on the detachment roll. Enabling another vampire to violate the Traditions - or violating them himself - costs one Willpower point. ••• Testifying: An Abider may use his dots in this Merit in place of his Humanity to determine the length of voluntary torpor. In determining the length of involuntary torpor, consider the Abider's Humanity rating to be two dots higher, to a maximum of eight dots. •••• Affirming: An Abider gains +1 on all rolls to resist frenzy. When riding the wave of frenzy, he benefits from only half his Blood Potency dots (rounded up) on Physical actions, as if he had been attempting to resist his Beast while there was another Kindred already in frenzy. ••••• Binding: For each round an Abider spends Willpower to resist frenzy, he gains a +2 bonus to the frenzy roll instead of the usual +1. A failure on the roll to resist frenzy is treated as a dramatic failure. 'Devotions' Blood Sense (Blood Potency •••) : By tasting the blood of a mortal and burning a Vitae of his own, the character can determine the Virtue or Vice of his vessel. With an exceptional success, both are revealed to the drinker. If this power is turned on a vampire, the character instead gains the Blood Sympathy bonus with that character for a number of nights equal to successes. : This power otherwise works as written, except that it costs 5 Beats to learn. A Dream Shared By Blood (Blood Potency ••••) : The vampire gains the power to see through the eyes and hears of a mortal who has drunk his blood as a kind of waking dream. : This power works as written, except that the Heightened Senses Merit negates the Perception penalty, and the power costs 10 Beats to learn. '' Blood Hunter (Blood Potency •••••) : Blood can be turned into Vitae because it is a fundamentally life-giving fluid. With sufficient mastery, however, a vampire can learn to manufacture Vitae from other lifegiving fluids consumed: namely, sexual fluids. This siphoning of life is taxing to the spirit rather than the body, costing the vessel one Willpower point instead of one lethal damage for each Vitae acquired. : ''This power costs 10 Beats to learn. Will of Blood (Blood Potency ••••• •) : Potent blood steels a vampire against danger and stress. : This power works as written, except that it costs 15 Beats to learn. Blood Surge (Blood Potency ••••• ••) : By spending an extra Vitae when using Physical Intensity, the vampire gains 9-agains for that roll. : This power works as written, and costs 15 Beats to learn. 'Source' ''Mythologies, ''pp 37-43. Category:Cults Category:Devotions Category:Translations Category:Blood Gods Category:Conclaves